Why it works: Rice and almond match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,456 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Rice Corn-meal Bread
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the batter
Combine one half pint of cornmeal with one half pint boiled rice, well mashed.
Add one lightly beaten egg.
Add enough sour milk to achieve the right batter consistency.
Stir in one half teaspoonful soda in the milk until it foams.
Add salt to taste.
Cook
Melt a piece of lard about the size of a large almond in the pan you will cook in.
Heat the pan until hot and well greased, then sprinkle a little cornmeal at the bottom.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Rice | 1 cup cooked (158g) white | 206 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Lard | 1 tbsp (12.8g) | 115 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Almond | 1 almond (1.2g) | 7 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
-
Rice + almondtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,456 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Rice + teatop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together197 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Rice + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,374 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Tea + milktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together738 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
-
Almond + teatop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together91 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cornmeal (in the method)
- Provides the main body and grainy structure of the bread.
- Boiled rice
- Adds moisture and a soft, tender crumb to the cornmeal base.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and adds structure as it sets in the heat.
- Soda
- Reacts with the sour milk to produce gas that lightens the bread.
- Sour milk
- Supplies liquid for the batter and its acidity activates the soda.
The step that matters
Stirring in the soda. Soda must be dissolved and foaming in the milk so it reacts with the acid in sour milk and releases gas before baking; adding it dry or late leaves the bread dense and uneven.
Swap the almond
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, egg, tea, milk):
- Cocoafits better
- Beansfits about as well
- Peanutfits about as well
- Almondthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against rice, egg, tea, milk. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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